LAS VEGAS – Kevin Holland has already won five fights in 2020, but if the right situation came up, he’d be more than happy to make an instant turnaround and make it six.

Holland (21-5 MMA, 8-2 UFC) scored a remarkable knockout of former Strikeforce middleweight champion Ronaldo Souza in their 185-pound main card clash at UFC 256, and used his post-fight interview with Joe Rogan to call for a Dec. 19 clash with Khamzat Chimaev.

“I know Chimaev was supposed to fight on Dec. 19, you know? He fights at ’85 and ’70. Come back up to ’85!” he told Rogan during the live broadcast. “I think he should stay at ’70, I think he could be a champ at 170. But if he comes up here to 185, I’m gonna bang that boy up!”

Speaking to reporters, including MMA Junkie, backstage after his win, Holland explained the callout, and offered the opinion that Chimaev’s perceived reputation for taking short-notice fights doesn’t compare with his own.

“He doesn’t have a reputation for fighting all the time, that’s just what all the casuals think, that he fights all the time,” he stated. “He fought three times this year, two times against bums and then another time against Gerald Meerschaert. Gerald Meerschaert’s not a bum, but he was coming off a knockout. He hasn’t beaten anybody in the UFC with a win but, at the same time, he’s a good ticket for the UFC, so let me stop talking about somebody that can help us make money, right?”

Holland’s finish of Souza took his 2020 record in the octagon to 5-0, with four of those wins coming inside the distance. While his callout fo Chimaev may not deliver the immediate matchup he fished for, he said he’s just happy to compete on the big stage in a sport he loves.

“I’m a company man. Whatever they want me to do, I’m here to do,” he admitted. “If they want me to fight next week, I’ll fight next week. If they want me to fight in a couple of months, I’ll fight in a couple of months. Whatever they want me to do, that’s what I’m here to do. Ultimately, I love my job, and I’m not here to complain. I’m just here to give grace and glory. I love it.”

Article source: https://mmajunkie.usatoday.com/2020/12/ufc256-kevin-holland-calls-out-khamzat-chimaev

UFC president Dana White spoke to the media during the UFC 256 Post-Fight Press Conference on Saturday following the event at UFC APEX in Las Vegas.

White revealed that the championship main event between Deiveson Figueiredo and Brandon Moreno was in jeopardy when Figueiredo visisted the hospital the night before the event.

Hear everything White had to say. He addressed potential future bouts, commented on the big wins, and looked ahead to 2021.

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Article source: https://www.mmaweekly.com/dana-white-ufc-256-main-event-was-nearly-lost-champion-visited-hospital

Men’s flyweight champ Deiveson Figueiredo and No. 1 ranked challenger Brandon Moreno fought a five-round, all-out war in the UFC 256 main event on Saturday night.

But in scoring the fight a majority draw, did Nevada’s judges get it right?

Figueiredo and Moreno both made excellent accountings of themselves at UFC 256 and the belt remained around Figueiredo’s waist. But should Figueiredo have won the fight outright, or do you think Moreno earned the nod, especially with Figueiredo losing a point because of a low blow?

Let us know in the comments below…

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Article source: https://www.mmaweekly.com/ufc-256-deiveson-figueiredo-vs-brandon-moreno-scorecard-were-the-judges-wrong

We got an instant classic Saturday night at UFC 256, as flyweight champion Deiveson Figueiredo and Brandon Moreno battled to a majority draw. The fight was an absolute barnburner from start to finish and should reopen the debate for “Fight of the Year” after it seemed Zhang Weili and Joanna Jedrzejczyk seemed to have it locked up back in March.

If there’s something that was disappointing about the UFC 256 main event, it’s that we didn’t get a winner, and that’s for two key reasons.

One:

• Referee Jason Herzog deducted a point from Figueiredo after a hard kick to the groin in the third round.

As a result of this, all three judges scored the round 9-9, meaning they essentially all had it in favor of Figueiredo. Now, in the immediate aftermath of UFC 256, there seems to be some debate about whether Herzog should’ve deducted a point in the first place, but you have to remember that Figueiredo had previously committed a foul with an eye poke. And his kick to Moreno’s groin was absolutely nasty. It’s not hard to see why the ref would deduct a point after that.

Two:

• Judge Junichiro Kamijo scored the fifth round 10-9 in favor of Moreno as part of his 47-47 overall score.

Plain and simply, this was atrocious. Nobody who watched the fight with proper eye sight would score that round for Moreno. Kamijo was the only judge to do that. Even after the fight, Moreno said he regretted not pushing the pace more in the fifth.

Without that inexplicable 10-9, Figueiredo would’ve won a majority decision. So when you look at the scoring, Kamijo is the reason why we ended up with a draw that shouldn’t have been.

Check out the full scorecard below:

The Blue Corner is MMA Junkie’s blog space. We don’t take it overly serious, and neither should you. If you come complaining to us that something you read here is not hard-hitting news, expect to have the previous sentence repeated in ALL CAPS.

Article source: https://mmajunkie.usatoday.com/2020/12/ufc-256-scorecard-figueiredo-moreno-draw-caused-by-inexplicable-fifth

LAS VEGAS – UFC president Dana White wants to book an immediate rematch between “absolute (expletive)” savages Deiveson Figueiredo and Brandon Moreno after UFC 256.

Figueiredo (20-1-1 MMA, 9-1-1 UFC) and Moreno (18-5-2 MMA, 6-2-2 UFC) put on an all-time title fight in Saturday’s headliner at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. They fought to a majority draw in an epic back-and-forth battle.

Both men went through tremendous punishment in the five-round contest, but the result begged a second fight to decide a conclusive winner. White agreed to as much, and said he intends to put them back in the octagon as soon as possible.

“We’ve got to give these guys some time off – but you absolutely, positively do that rematch,” White told reporters, including MMA Junkie, post-fight at UFC 256. “That’s another fun fight for us all to look forward to in 2021.”

As far as the fight itself, White said he thought the result should’ve been different. He pointed to a point deduction against Figueiredo that came after a low blow as the reason for the draw.

“I had Figueiredo winning the fight,” White said. “(After) the point deduction, the whole fight turned. Moreno started coming on stronger. He probably won that round without the point deduction. That’s when the whole fight started to turn.”

It’s unknown when the rematch between Figueiredo and Moreno will happen. White said both men can “take as much time as they need” after two bouts in 21 days.

The initial bout was a memorable way to close the UFC’s 2020 title fight schedule, though. It already is being discussed as a potential “Fight of the Year,” alongside the brutal UFC 248 title bout between Zhang Weili and Joanna Jedrzejczyk.

White didn’t give a definitive opinion on the best UFC bout of the year, but said both were tremendous fights.

“Joanna and Weili was really good, too,” White said. “It was just so long ago people need to remember how really damn good that fight was.”

Article source: https://mmajunkie.usatoday.com/2020/12/ufc-256-dana-white-plans-deiveson-figueiredo-vs-brandon-moreno-immediate-rematch